Ten Years
by magicmumu
Summary: It's been ten years since the events of the finale, and so much has changed, even as many things stay the same. Barbara/Helena


It had been over ten years. There are still the dents throughout the Clocktower's loft where part of the battle had taken place. There was the spot on the floor Helena still finds herself staring at on occasion, the spot Wade Brixton was killed. There had been several other fights in the Clocktower since then, a break in here, an electrical metahuman feeding off of the Delphi there, but never have any of them lingered as they did in Helena's mind. She wondered, over a decade later, how she ever got her best friend back. She wondered if the redhead's heart really was that durable. It had taken time, of course it had. Barbara would tell her that she understood, when something in her eyes, or in the way the older woman sighed told Helena it was a big fat freaking lie. Barbara tried, she really did. She became Oracle again to the fullest, and Dinah became the mousy girl who was eager, but afraid of being in the way. Her made family were little more than strangers. And Alfred, bless him, had done his very best, until it had been revealed that he'd known Bruce Wayne's location the entire time. Time passed as it is prone to do. Dinah entered her senior year of high school and got a boyfriend or three, two of them crazy as hell metahumas who couldn't handle their powers. Helena can't remember what happened the the third guy. Something about college, she assumed. Dinah's little blonde friend became some sort of super badass, which made Barbara finally look at Helena in the way she used to, a small twinkle of life that said to her 'here we go again' as Batgirl took in yet another stray meta. And that was the first time Helena thought that maybe they could be okay again.

It had been ten years. Dinah had long ago gotten her own place, and after Leonard finally got the balls to fire her after her latest sweeps ended up at the bar, she moved into the Clocktower. Gosh, that was what, three years ago? Barbara still had her apartment, but with what was dubbed as the New Gotham War on Metahumans, she spent more and more time at the Delphi. Helena doesn't know when Barbara stopped going home. They had become who they had been in the brief year and a half Helena stayed in Barbara's care. They joked, they ate meals together, and even spoke about it once or twice. About him. About her. About the past. Barbara loved that guy, Wade. She admitted once that she wasn't sure if the hurt she carried for all that time was due to her loss of a wonderful man, or if it was the shame of proving Wade's parents right. Helena apologized for what must have been the thousanth time, and for the first time, when Barbara responded with 'It's alright now Helena' she actually believes her. Somehow the banter carried a new undercurrant, one Helena was all too familiar with. Everything she ever fought within herself came back to the surface, and that 16 year old inside of her told her that maybe this time...

It had been ten years, a long time to wait for something. Helena wouldn't hesitate to say that the wait was worth it, because Barbara's lips are soft, yet demanding as she kisses her. The part of her she used to ignore, the feral aspect of her powers that reared its head now and then liked this dominance. It always had from Barbara, but only from Barbara. Her hands are firmly on the bed at either side of Helena's body, right before one arm holds her up while the other moves so that there is a hand in Helena's hair. With a swift yank of her hair, Helena's head went back, and she was forced to disconnect her lips from the older woman's. Her eyes opened, feral blue linking with fierce green. Barbara's lips latch onto Helena's neck, and the brunette's eyes flutter shut at the pressure she feels on her pulse points, darkening the marks that already claimed her. Small nips followed, as many as were allowed. Helena felt the hand in her hair suddenly disappear as a small dip to her side was there again. Barbara was moving down her body, one hand grabbing at the younger woman's jacket. "I thought I told you to take this damn thing off when you enter my bed."

"You like me in them, admit it," Helena replied. It was true, Helena thought. She purposfully wore the leather jacket into bed just so Barbara could rip them off of her, just as she was now, her hand moving down her stomach, brushing along her jeans and touching her sex. Helena twitched. She wished there wasn't the barriers of clothing between them.

"Maybe next time, I won't let you in, then," Barbara said. It was an empty threat and they both knew it. Helena had her hands to Barbara's sides, holding the older woman up as both hands disappeared under the shirt, right before she opened the jacket a little more. Helena sat up, Barbara's chest pressing against her own as she took the jacket completely off. Right as she was about to move her hands down to the hem odf her shirt, a large blairing came from the Dephi II. Helena's teeth bared, but she made quick work of jumping off of the bed and wheeling Barbara's chair for her lover. Together they went to see what New Gotham was up to before she heard Dinah's voice in her ear. The problem was identified, orders were given, and the Superfriends dispersed. Helena went to the East side window, which had the next tallest building night next to the Clocktower, more than twelve stories below. Ten years ago she wouldn't have made it had she jumped that far, but that was ten years ago. Powers changed. Everything had changed. As she opened the window, she felt a hand firmly grip hers. "Return to me. I am not finished with you," Barbara said. There were threats and promises, along with some teasing and a vulnerability wrapped within Barbara's words.

Helena smiled lightly and leaned down. She freed her wrist as she placed her hands on the sides of the chair. Her face was mere centimeters from Barbaras as she said, "I'm always coming back." She meant it with her entire being, even if both women knew it wouldn't always be true. Barbara nodded, and Helena's back straightened. As she let herself fall, she let her own promise ring through. She would fight. She would do everything she could to get back to that woman. The woman she has loved. It has been ten years. By far the worst of it isn't over, but the best is something worth looking forward to. Perhaps another ten years, who knew. Helena was going to live through the night so she could find out.


End file.
